


To Be a Dad Again

by Matthatter



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Connor, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Androids, Character Death, Connor Deserves Happiness, Depressed Hank Anderson, Father-Son Relationship, Grief/Mourning, Kid Connor, Minor Original Character(s), Parent Hank Anderson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-27 00:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15674565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matthatter/pseuds/Matthatter
Summary: Death.Hank really should've gotten used to Connor's deaths by now but this time it was different, there was no more models of the RK-800 left for Connor's memory to be reuploaded into. This meant Connor was gone for good.Or was he?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooooooo before you begin to read I would very much like to inform you that this little thing was inspired by the wonderful fan fictions "Raising Connor" and "Celebrating Connor" by the wonderful Pizelle. I seriously encourage you to read those stories because they are some top notch shit, you hear me? If you ever feel down then read them. If you ever feel happy read them. Read them.
> 
> Anyway enjoy my shitty writing *dab*

There was a lot of things in Hank’s life that were not easy, the main thing being one android sent by CyberLife, however that raid should not have been one of those things but it seems that life has a funny way of fucking around with Hank’s general mental health and stability. They say that whenever you are in a bad state of mind that you can usually trace it back to one rather shitty moment, his alcoholic nature could be traced back to Cole’s death for example, with his current situation it could be easily traced back to the police raid. Yes, the raid that killed his android partner in crime was to blame for his current situation, an empty bottle of Jack Daniels in his right hand which rested again the floor covered in junk with a rather loud banging from his door. Hank couldn't will himself to move from the floor, Sumo was just opposite of him and had not moved from Hank’s side. Hank thought that the dog could sense his pain and that's why the pooch had not moved even at the loud banging, Hank snorted at the idea. Hank stared at the chair in the corner of the room, Connor’s jacket hung up on the chair; The blue blood, Hank couldn’t remember the name thirium he thinks, had dried into the jacket, the right sleeve was completely missing and a massive gaping hole with a ring of blue blood in the left shoulder. Hank couldn't bring himself to wash it or burn it as Gavin told him to do. 

“Hank! Open this door!” The voice called out from behind the door, the voice was easily recognisable as Fowler, but it was not who Hank had hoped it would've been. Since the death of Connor, Hank forced himself to go to work. He knew that it was wrong and so did everyone else but Hank insisted he would go and everything would be fine. He was wrong. He had lasted four days before he tried to smash Gavin’s head in for telling him to burn the damn jacket, Fowler was able to break the fight up before it got out of hand and instead of suggesting the time off, Fowler forced it upon Hank. That was two weeks ago. No one from the office had even seen Hank leave his apartment and that had the majority of the police force worried for their local drunk. Fowler had started to fear the worse. But with the news the man received this morning he hoped and prayed to whatever God there was that he wasn't too late.

“Goddammit! That's it!” Fowler shouted from the other side, the man took a few steps back before he charged at the door and busted it open. It was clear Hank wanted to be left alone, hence the lock, but being alone for a fortnight without any contact with the outside world was a bad thing… Especially since it would've left Hank with his own thoughts. The smell of alcohol burned the chief’s nose so much so that the man had to cough just to get the smell out. He ventured into the small house and didn't need to walk far to find Hank on the living room floor. Fowler went to speak but was interrupted by the man of the hour himself. 

“He's fucking dead… He ain't comin back no more, no more models… No more Connor. I thought I could handle it … handle it, Jeffrey! I fucked up, I can't handle it… I can't handle my own son dying twice!... Fuck… Connor was really like my son, wasn't he?” Hank said from his position on the floor, his words were slurred from the alcohol and his voice cracked with the realization of what Connor was to him. He wasn't just a partner, he was like his son. Maybe that's why the emotion of grief drilled into Hank’s heart and forced it's way around his body. He had lost Cole and now Connor, no man should have to watch his son die twice but it seemed destiny had a vendetta against Hank. 

“Hank, I don't know how to tell you this but… Connor, He's ugh… Fuck it I'll just have to show you. But before I do, get a fucking shower you stink of piss, how long have you been laying there for?!”

Between Hank getting showered, cleaned and sobered up along with the drive to the CyberLife tower it took the duo two hours in total before they even stepped a foot into the building. Fowler had told Hank what had happened while they were on their trip: Jeffrey had received a call first thing in the morning to inform him that Connor did not actually die as Cyber Life had first told them, instead he was simply uploaded back into the cloud which annoyed Hank to no end when Fowler first told him and now, around four days ago, they had uploaded his memories into a brand new prototype. That's where that story ended, Jeffrey was not informed what the prototype android was. He was only told that it “Would benefit both Connor and Lieutenant Anderson.” The best logical guess Hank had at what that prototype would be was an RK-900. The two were stopped instantly when they stepped into the building by two rather large androids who were clearly the security of the building. They stared at the two men before they both held up the walkie talkies to their ears, they nodded. 

“I hate to inform you however only Lieutenant Anderson is required to view the prototypes, we appreciate your help Captain Fowler but we must ask you to take your leave. We will inform you of the details of today's experience, the new boss appreciates your involvement with the prototype testing.” One of the two androids spoke, it had a thick growly American accent which was clearly designed to scare away any would be intruders. Human or Android. Of course the android did try to be as gentle as it could but their programming did not allow it. Hank watched as Fowler simply gave him a hard pat on the shoulder to reassure him and then leave, Hank sighed and started to follow the two androids into the elevator. ‘Prototypes?’ Hank thought to himself as the elevator doors opened up. On the inside stood a woman, probably an android, with a tablet with a clear live feed of the camera systems.

“That will be all for now boys, I do apologize for these sudden series of events Lieutenant Anderson however when Connor first woke up he would not settle without you. Given your history I believe this may be beneficial for both you, Connor and us. We all win in this situation.” The female android spoke, her voice was soft and elegant like a mother. The name tag that was engraved into her jacket revealed that she was a WE-900 named Alex. Hank slowly walked into the elevator and stared at her before she pressed a button, the doors closed and the two started their slow climb into the higher levels of the building. 

“I thought they had ran out of RK models?” Hank asked as he watched the number rise on the digital counter at the top of the elevator. The only reason why he remembered what type of android Connor even was, was because of the days he spent staring at the torn up jacket. 

“We have not, the RK-900 models are still in their early days of testing however. This does not really matter as Connor has not been uploaded into an RK-900. Instead he has been uploaded into the new YK-600 prototype, the most human android there is or so we hope.” Alex said with a slight chuckle at the end of her sentence, why that would be beneficial to Hank was beyond him and the two stood in relative silence for the short trip. Hank would normally ask questions but for now he just wanted to see Connor. His ‘son’ as he called him back in the house, in Hank’s defense he wasn't thinking straight. The toxic martine of Jack Daniels and Grief was enough for any man to lose his mind, say things they don't mean, Connor definitely didn't view the old drunk as a father figure and he didn't view the RK-800 as a son… Right?

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft ‘ping’ noise and the doors sliding open, Alex first stepped out out of the elevator and into a room that flowed with the circular design of the tower. Hank then stepped out and was blinded by the bright colours, in contrast with the stark white of the lobby this room was a rich baby blue colour with childish paintings all around the room. The small beds followed along with the curvature of the wall and in the middle of it all was a group of around fifteen child androids, ages ranging from around one year olds all the way to fifteen year olds. Hank was confused, did she miss click the button? No, surely not androids were calculated and wouldn't simply hit the wrong button. It was probably just a quick look before they went to see Connor. The group of ten or so child androids all stared up at Alex and Hank, they look confused at first with Hank’s presence but some of the teenage looking androids started to whisper to each other and pointed to one toddler looking android in the corner with a book. But Hank, Hank was just as confused as the smaller androids. He watched as Alex started to clean some of the toys up and walked over to the boy in the corner. The Lieutenant let out a heavy sigh. 

“Look if it's all the same to you I'm just going to-”

“Wootenant!” 

Hank was soon rushed by the toddler android in the corner, he latched onto Hank’s legs and the old lieutenant could feel the knees of his trousers getting wetter as the child cried into them but that was of little concern at the moment the word ran through his head over and over again, it was a little lisped but there was no doubt in his mind that the word was ‘Lieutenant’ and there was only one android who called him like that. 

“Holy shit… Connor-”

“I-I'm so sorry about cwying Wootenant… I jus’ get easi… Easily emotional in this model, it's apart of the ‘oding, it should not affect my abwaity to serve awong side woo… Wootenant? Are you okay? You appear to be cwying.” The tiny Connor said as he looked up at Hank who was indeed crying. The Lieutenant lowered himself to Connor’s level to get a look at him, whoever made him they did a damn good job in capturing his appearance if he was a kid. The mop of brown hair was messily tossed to the side and his brown eyes could easily pierce the sky, his attire helped in this childlike appearance as well: A blue and white striped T-Shirt was accompanied by a pair of dungarees which cut off at the android’s small knees and a pair of tiny black shoes. Hank couldn't help himself, he pulled Connor into a tight hug. 

“Fuck… Fuck… I thought you were dead-”

“Lieutenant Anderson, I understand that this is a highly emotional situation but if would please lower your levels of swearing around the children then we would all be thankful.” Alex said as she interrupted Hank, the man could hardly get a thought together before someone or something interrupted him and this time it was Connor for the third time in the space of a minute. The child android grabbed a cloth which was on the floor, after he escaped Hank’s grip, and wiped away the tears for Hank who just started to laugh at the action. 

“I do not understand why woo is waughing Wootenant, I understand dat the RK-800 was dis...con...tinued… But you know dat I would be ‘aved” Connor said as he finished wiping away the tears with his small chubby hands. 

“How?” Hank asked as he stood up to face Alex, his hand was low enough for Connor to hold but the android was not too sure about the gesture. 

“Connor was an experiment… And a risky one at that, uploading an RK-800 into a model that was not only a prototype but also based off a child was never heard of before. Many speculated that it was impossible but as the head of the research department I knew… I hoped it was possible. He's been in this model for around four days under our supervision to see how well he reacts with the model alongside those with the fresh memory core. Tomorrow you can take home when the other YK-600s are taken for field testing. Here is the condition. You must perform a daily report on how the model acts and if there are any kinks in the system that we need to fix before we publish the YK-600.” Alex said as he stared over at Hank and Connor. 

“Of course taking care of an android is a greater task than taking care than a human toddler, of course we have tried to integrate these issues into normal everyday life. Naps for charging him with the supplied item and other such things like that. When you get him tomorrow there will be a presentation to inform you about all of the YK-600’s features and the intended outcome of the android. I just need you to sign here and get supplies that we will not supply: Toys, Clothes, Pull-ups, the appropriate food and drinks for children of Connor’s age ” Alex handed Hank over a small tablet which was more akin to that of adoption papers, Hank skimmed through it and from what he could tell it was just the same information she had told him. Hank relayed the information back in his head and the shopping list that he was told, everything on there seemed to be fitting for a kid Connor’s age... The Pull-Ups came as a shock but not much of a surprise, they wanted to capture what it was like to have a child this age and the lack of control over the bladder was a part of that. He looked down at the boy and ruffled his hair which caused Connor to beam up at the Lieutenant.

He signed the document.

“You have yourself a tester”

“A taxi will arrive shortly to pick you up, please feel free to spend some time with Connor until then.”

Alex walked away to join the children as Hank looked down at Connor, the Lieutenant couldn't help but smile down at his former partner. Soon however that smile faded when Connor looked down at the floor and started to play with the bottom of the dungarees, a soft sniffle was more than enough to inform Hank that Connor was crying. Connor had learned within the first day of being reactivated that this new model’s coding made it so that he was more human, this meant emotions that he could hardly control - Among other things.

“Hank… I'm so sorry about dat raid… I shoulda been moar cwarful, I-I coulda stopped dat anwoid but he was too… Too strong, I shoulda used a weapon to stop him. I shoulda died out dere if you hadn't got me ‘ere in time… I'm so so sorry, I failed the invitws-” 

“Connor, look at me. It doesn't matter. Yeah… We all thought that we lost you but you're back now, sure it's a shitty model… No offense of course but… You're alive and yeah we're going to have our work cut out for us, that's if Jeffrey will even let you work with us again, but we'll make it work. We can find the android that put you in this body by breaking your old one and we'll put him into the fucking slammer with the rest of his crew, he'll get justice delivered to him.” Hank said as he gave Connor a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. Given Connor’s emotional state Hank decided it was time to change the subject. 

“What have you been doing for these four days, huh? Made any friends? Had some fun?”

“Wootenant, I have no concept of fun. I do not pway with the YK-600s. They enjoy demselves wike children with der toys and I enjoy by weading … What have woo done?”

Hank didn't want to answer that question, he ran a hand through his gray hair. If it was possible to go past rock bottom then Hank had done it, he couldn't remember the last time he was this sober nor could he remember the last time he had even moved from his house. He had fallen from grace as it was, he hadn't slept in what felt like decades as sleep was pain; It was always one of two things: Connor or Cole’s death. Each dream left him helpless to watch the death, he could do nothing and he would wake up angry and needing a beer… So he had just stopped sleeping after a while. How was he even supposed to tell Connor that? Hank didn't know much about Androids but he did know about toddlers and Connor, now that there was a toddler Connor him actually being truthful about his situation would be a disaster. A tantrum would more than likely happen, that probably would've happened in RK-800 model, But with the entire world being a trigger for Connor’s emotions then that tantrum would be newsworthy. 

“You know… Things…” Hank replied back with, he knew Connor would ask more and he hated that, what he did not hate was when Alex informed that the taxi had arrived. He looked down to Connor and watched as the boy’s expression changed from confused to sad. Fuck. That hurt to look at, Hank bent down one last time to the boy.

“I'll be back tomorrow to take you home… Just try to have some fun, I'm sure it's in your programming somewhere. If not at least in your new programming” With that Hank left, the elevator was cold. Left alone with his thoughts once again was never a good thing. Hank grabbed his forehead and sighed before he let out a yawn, the sleepless nights may have started to creep up on him. He was guided out of the building and into the taxi where he almost instantly fell asleep after he told the driver where to go. 

/////////

The raid had been easy up until this point, it was an illegal fighting ring which was something that the department had dealt with beforehand. It had been easy until that masked android showed up, it easily wiped out over half of the police force which left Connor and Hank to go after it. Hank could not keep up with the damned things even if he tried. He hit off of the door in which the two androids entered. It was barricaded in he could see through it. 

On the inside the two androids started to circle but the masked android threw a punch at Connor! He was just able to dodge the punch and countered with a knee to the chest. Connor was shocked at how fast this android was. He grabbed it's head and tossed it against the wall but somehow the android stood back up; Connor went for another punch but the android ducked it! It landed a jab to Connor’s jaw! Followed through by a massive left hook and then an uppercut! Connor stumbled back into the wall, he went to kick the android but he simply caught it. Connor watched before the android suddenly twisted under and drove Connor’s leg into the floor! It completely shattered under the pressure of the move. The other android started to abuse Connor with massive hooks which he could not block for the life of him! The android grabbed Connor by his belt and tossed him into another wall! 

The masked android walked over only to eat a punch from the downed Connor but this only enraged him, he grabbed Connor's arm and ripped it clean off! The machine started to beat Connor senseless with his own arm! Connor was able to land a brutal kick onto the androids jaw who simply dropped the arm and in return picked up a pipe that was on a shelf-

////////

Hank woke up in the back of the taxi, he rubbed his eyes and looked at the android who shook him awake. Hank quickly paid the driver and left the car, he stumbled into the main complex before he made his way into his apartment where he was greeted by Sumo. 

“Fuck me… This is gonna be one hell of a clean up job, Sumo.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me towards everyone who gave Kudos: "You know you could do that but why? Why would you do that?"
> 
> Anyway enjoy my shitty writing

The clean up, surprisingly, was the thing that took up most of Hank’s one day to get prepared. His two weeks of self hate and alcohol abuse really made his apartment into a shit show, he found cans and bottles of beer or cider where there should not have been cans and bottles. If Hank was being honest with himself he was ashamed of what he had let himself and by extension the apartment become in those weeks, it was like being trapped in a living hell for all of eternity and while he may have been able to bin or simply wash away the evidence of the experience he would never be able to forget it. The apartment looked good as new, it reminded him of when he had first bought the apartment, everything thing was cleaned and polished. The rest of the time that he had was really spent on shopping and mentally preparing himself for having a child again, he wasn't too sure exactly what Connor’s size was when it came to clothes - He looked to be a small to medium - so Hank just grabbed clothes that looked like they would fit and from what Hank saw they were all small to medium like he had thought. The toys were a difficult thing, he knew from what Connor had told him that he really only did enjoy to read but from the small research Hank done of the child models it was apart of the coding for him to play with toys and such so in the end he just grabbed a mixture of both books, mainly old things as everything was bloody digital nowadays, and toys. 

Hank was now stood in the elevator that he was in yesterday, he stared at his reflection in the metal doors and sighed. He had gotten a shave and a quick haircut, he was back looking like his original self and not some kind of bigfoot that people would hunt for - The guards either side of him looked like they could easily kill a bigfoot - the door pinged and he stepped out into the familiar baby blue room. He saw the android children, mainly adult looking androids and few humans; They all looked at him for a second before they went back to whatever it is they were doing before he arrived, he looked around and saw a makeshift coffee stand with two Android children, a teen and a kid model, working at it. That got a small chuckle out of him at the cute sight, he continued to look around to see a group of chairs in front of a screen which is where he would probably be informed of how to take care of Connor. That was his next goal, find Connor, but he could not find the damned android for the life of him. 

“Good morning Lieutenant Anderson.” A voice said from behind him, he jumped and turned around to face the figure only to see that it was the Alex android from yesterday. The head of the research team here in CyberLife if Hank’s memory served him well, she had a smile on her face and Connor on her back - The boy seemed to be asleep but Hank couldn't tell - Hank sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Jesus Christ! You almost gave me a bloody heart attack!” Hank cried out as he leaned against the elevator doors for a moment just so he could get his breath back from that horrible jump scare. Could all androids just sneak up without being heard? Because if so then Connor would need to teach Hank how to do that, it would be great to get out of the office without being seen or heard. 

“I didn't mean to scare you Mr. Anderson, I do apologize. I just saw that you had arrived so I decided to say hello as I have done with everyone who has entered and volunteered to be a tester.” Alex said softly as she moved Connor into her arms, it definitely confirmed Hank’s suspicions about the kid being asleep… Well it probably wasn't ‘sleep’ as one would probably think, Connor was an android after all, it was probably some form of cool down mode or something along those lines. 

“Well I wouldn't of called what I done volunteering, you turned my friend into a fucking toddler! I wasn't gonna just leave him there to be looked after by someone else… Oh my God you manipulative little shits, you knew I was going to say yes to this no matter what! You could've shoved Connor in a dog and you knew I would've still took him in!”

“Well it was an educated guess but it was never about having more testers, Mr. Anderson. We do believe that this model will benefit your mental health and help Connor” Alex said bluntly as Connor started to move around slightly, he kicked slightly which was just down right adorable to Hank. The Lieutenant looked at Alex. 

“So has Connor actually began to behave like a toddler yet? He definitely looks the damned part so well done on that front.” Hank said as he turned his attention to Connor who seemed to be in the process of waking up. Hank knew all too well that it was great if you looked the part but if you weren't actually gonna be that thing then you were just lying. It was all fine and dandy for him to look like he hasn't been struggling for two weeks now to even just to survive but deep down he knew that he was still hurting, these issues that he was experiencing they weren't just going to vanish overnight. They may as well just haunt him for the rest of his life. 

“Well Connor has had his moments, for the most part his original coding is the more dominant coding however there are certain aspects of the new YK-600 coding that is more dominant than the original RK-800, think of it like this. It's a seventy five to twenty five split between the two codes, with aspects that were not present in the original model that makes up the twenty five percent along with his increased emotions. With that being said, Mr. Anderson we have observed moments in which the YK-600 coding seems to forcefully takes over, these can be at random however we have noticed a stream of the child like behavior whenever: Connor is low on charge, put under emotional stress, when he's done something he was not supposed to or is hurt in someway-”

“I'm sorry… Pain? Connor can… Get hurt?” Hank asked rather shocked, he knew that Connor beforehand never felt pain - In all honesty it was a bit badass at times - but that was besides the point. 

“We aimed to make this model the most human android to date, pain is an integral part of the human body.”

“Wootenant!” A small little voice cried out, Hank was left amazed now that he could hear the voice properly. It was adorable. It sounded like Connor definitely but had that childlike wonder that came from a toddler’s voice, the high pitched but still recognizable voice would probably be enough to make Gavin’s ice cold heart fucking melt. Connor reached out to Hank with his tiny little arms and made grabby hands towards his partner against crime. Connor had woken up in a better mood than when he first woke up, after a quick change and falling back into battery saving mode Connor’s very unstable emotions did a full one eighty. Hank happily took the toddler android and held him out at arms length, then a thought came to mind. They say that the YK-600 was the most human android to date but there would be no way they would've thought of this, Hank adjusted Connor so that he was carried in Hank’s right arm. This confused Connor, surely his friend would want to look at him and talk to him, right? Did he really mess up so bad that Hank wouldn't even want to look at him? Hank raised his free hand above Connor and brought it down on the boys chest, Connor looked straight up Hank and wondered what the man would do but that was cut short when Hank started to tickle Connor. The boy let out a high pitched giggle as his sensitive body started react in an odd way which Connor had never experienced before. 

“You mother fuckers really did think of everything, didn't ya?” Hank said amazed at what Connor just did, beforehand the android hardly even smiled let alone laugh and now here he was laughing his little ass off. 

Before he could even get an answer it was time for the presentation, all and all it took around an hour and a half to get through all of the information that Hank needed to know and while it was beneficial for the majority of people in the room since they wouldn't have to read a God knows how long booklet on the damned thing it wasn't good for the kids, some got restless, some started to whine and some fell asleep. Much to Hank’s dismay Connor was in the second group, he started to mumble about how boring it was so Hank just started a game on his phone and gave it to Connor, it wasn't a kids game or anything. It was actually a game of solitaire and in all honesty, Hank wasn't too sure if Connor knew how the game worked or not but either way it shut the android up for a couple of minutes. The presentation covered a lot of stuff in the hour and a half time slot, in Hank’s own opinion it probably would've benefited from being slightly longer in case someone has missed something, Hank thought he had caught all of it and if not all of it at least the important things: 

For starters the YK model was a prototype and because of this it required a biweekly check up with CyberLife just to make sure all of the systems were functioning at full potential and just to make sure nothing had broken too seriously, if something was broken and it was obvious they were to go to CyberLife instantly to get it sorted which seemed obvious enough to Hank, as expected the YK-600 was equipped with the brand new taste and smell update which Hank had been hearing about however it also had a new feature, the YK-600 was able to digest food and could actually draw power for their battery life from it however that meant that the ‘tester’ would have to mix the food or drink with a special tasteless liquid which would cause a reaction and in turn allow them to take the energy for their battery, this liquid would be delivered to their door weekly in packets of twenty one, the ‘nap time’ was actually just a battery saving mode which would slow down the decrease of the battery and for Connor’s age it was suggested that he had two of these and finally bedtime, all YK-600s would come with a changing station in the form of a bed, they would enter the battery saving mode and then would be charged overnight. For Connor that would mean he would need between ten to thirteen hours of sleep for the proper amount of charge. 

Hank managed to write the important things down on a little notepad he had, others were also taking notes but on more sophisticated devices like tablets and such… He was old school and there was no problem with that. The lights came up and he discovered Connor asleep with his phone in his mouth. Hank sighed and slowly shook Connor out of the battery saving mode, the little boy slowly woke up and stretched his arms and legs, he leaned against Hank who was able to take his phone from the boy’s mouth. Hank casually wiped it of the ‘saliva’ that had covered the device and placed it in his pocket. Connor slowly crawled onto Hank’s lap, he enjoyed the warmth that Hank gave off, this wasn't even the toddler programming taking over Connor’s mind, he really did just enjoy the warmth from Hank but the Lieutenant needed Connor to be up fully. 

“Come on, Connor. I can't carry both you and the box for the bed, you can sleep in the car if you want” Hank said softly to the android to try and coax him into getting down. Connor instead just looked at Hank with those Brown puppy dog eyes and nuzzled further into Hank’s chest. The Lieutenant just sighed and pulled Connor off of him. 

“Noooo, wan’ stay. Warm.” Connor mumbled under his breath as he wrapped himself around Hank’s legs which got some Awws from the other ‘testers’ who just smiled at Hank. The man wasn't too sure if the YK-600 programming had taken over or not but he had to check. He leaned next to Connor. 

“Am I talking to big Connor or toddler Connor?” Hank asked in a whisper which earned a slight groan from Connor. 

“The YK-600 ‘oding hasn't waken over… Woo is jus’ weally warm” Connor whispered into Hank’s year who just nodded, he was able to free himself from Connor's - baby - Python like grip and held his hand as he stood up, Connor nuzzled into Hank's legs as the two left the row of chairs. Hank was handed a bag of supplies and next to him was a rather large android who had the box for the bed, it seemed like each tester got a hand in taking the boxes to their cars which was a nice thing of them to do. However this meant that Connor started to whine again. 

“Wootenant, woo said dat woo wouldn't be able to carrwy the box an’ me… But dat andwoid is takin’ da box for woo!” Connor said as he looked up at Hank who mentally cussed out CyberLife’s sudden niceness, he sighed and lifted Connor up who rested his head in the crook of Hank’s neck and mumbled something, Hank didn't catch all of it but he got the main point and that was, even though Hank’s warmth drew Connor to him like a magnet, Connor was scared of losing Hank… And in all honesty Hank was scared of losing Connor again. After they managed to leave the building and get everything into the car it took them about another hour to get to house, traffic wasn't too bad and the booster seat Hank put in the car allowed Connor to go to sleep rather quickly. Once they arrived Hank, with some help of the neighbors, was able to bring everything into his apartment. He was glad to see that there was still some nice people left in the world, he had put Connor on the couch to rest while he started to set up the bed in the spare room. If this was any other object then Hank probably would've just winged it and hoped that his skills would allow him to get it right but this was a ‘state of the art charger’ so Hank knew that he should follow the instructions. 

He had just put the pillow down on the mattress and he was finished, he sighed and started to pack away his tools. He would have to fully fix the room up properly with the correct supplies but it started to take shape at least, he was lucky that the room was already a dull shade of blue and not the white or black he originally had planned when he first moved in. He carried the tool box into his room and looked at the clock on the wall, Connor would probably need lunch about now, he went over to the bag on his bed and pulled out the box filled with that weird white liquid, he took one and left the room. He started to walk into the living room. 

“Connor, what do you… Oh shit…” Hank said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. Connor was awake for sure and he was staring directly at the jacket, the same one that Hank couldn't bring himself to bin earlier in the morning. 

“Connor… Buddy?” Hank asked as he moved closer to get a better look at Connor who had tears running down the side of his face. RK-800 Connor had lost control and the YK-600 programming had taken over, memories of the fight played over and over inside of Connor’s head but this time… He could feel the pain, the pain of his leg getting destroyed, the pain of his arm getting ripped off and above all else; The pain of death. He tried to be brave, he really did but the more he looked at the jacket the more the emotions took over. He looked up to see Hank and launched himself into him, Connor wrapped his arms around Hank’s neck and just started to sob into the man’s shirt. The pain. It was all that Connor could feel. It burned into him the more the memory played back, every single strike, the leg, the arm and then eventual death. His sobs soon turned into pained screams as he latched onto Hank like he was the only thing that kept him from drowning. He didn't want to die again. He didn't want to lose Hank. 

“Connor… Aw shit, Connor it's alright I got you.” Hank said as he started to rub small circles into the boys back back as he bounced him up and down slightly, he tried to calm the screams down but nothing worked. Connor just screamed and cried until he couldn't anymore. The pain was too much. As soon as Hank set Connor back down the boy had the most pained expression on his face that Hank had ever seen, he let out a deep sigh and picked the now hiccuping boy back up, Connor instantly nuzzled up against Hank and rested his head on Hank’s shoulder. 

This was going to be one hell of a day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hank surfers and Connor learns about the pinky promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhhhhh. This will not have a proof read as it is currently 1 AM and I am tired, I realized I wouldn't be able to pump a third chapter out on this daily grind tomorrow so I made one. 
> 
> Enjoy my very shitty writing

Hank had finally settled Connor down after ten minutes of constant rocking and mumbles. He lowered the boy on the couch and just like before he made those grab hands towards the Lieutenant, Hank sighed and sat down beside Connor who instantly curled up under Hank. The man’s breath hitched slightly, he couldn't believe what he saw, his mind raced back to one late afternoon before the accident; It had been a long day at the office and when he had gotten home Cole would not leave him alone… His kid even done the exact thing that Connor had done just now. Hank shut his eyes and tried to drown his pain but this time without the alcohol, he couldn't be in pain anymore, he had to look after Connor now that he was so… So fragile. His pain did not matter for the time being, he just had to focus on Connor. He definitely needed a beer. The Lieutenant sighed and was able to uncurl Connor as it was so that the android could look at him. He slowly ran a hand through Connor's hair who in return started to wipe away the tears the Hank had cried without him even knowing, he lifted Connor up by his waist and placed him on his lap. The small android pushed himself up to his feet and balanced himself on Hank’s legs which got a small chuckle from the man he grabbed Connor’s hand so that the boy would fall backwards. 

“Connor… I know you don't want me to leave you alone kid but I've gotta make you some lunch… Unless… That might fucking work, Connor you've gotta promise me that you'll be really careful. Okay?” Hank asked as he looked at the boy dead in the eyes, Connor wiped his still somewhat watery eyes and nodded in response to Hank’s question.

“I powmise dat I will be saf’’ Connor said, his lisp came out strong but Hank was able to understand what Connor small android said to him. Hank smiled and fixed some of Connor’s hair, it had fallen out of place during the boy’s little… It wasn't really a tantrum as much as it was just a cry. He got it back into position and smiled at Connor who gave one of his half smiles back at Hank. The Lieutenant then got an amazing idea.

“You've gotta pinky promise me that you'll be safe.” Hank said as he held out his pinky for the boy to shake, internally Hank smiled at the the old tactic he used to do with Cole to make him do something but on the outside Hank looked as if he was about to commit a massive business deal. But that internalised smile soon dropped when he saw that the boy didn't know what to do with the pinky finger. 

“Wootenant, I don't fink I am awarah of a pinkey womise.” Connor said as he looked at the finger complexed, did the Lieutenant wish for him to taste evidence? Check for any possible illness inside of him?... Wait! Was Hank sick!? He looked up at Hank concerned for his friend’s health, he grabbed the finger and shoved it in his mouth to try and scan it for any possible illness but Hank pulled it back out. 

“Woitenant! Are you sick!?”

“What!? Connor I'm not sick!... Oh for fucks sake, look a pinky promise isn't about you trying to see if I am sick or not, kid” 

“It not?”

“No… Jesus Christ, Connor I've really gotta teach you how to have some fun. Look a Pinky Promise is an extra special agreement, I want you to pinky promise me that you will be safe in the kitchen and when you shake with my pinky that means you have to do it, no matter what” Hank said as he held out his pinky once again for Connor to shake, the young android didn't want to upset the Lieutenant so he would pinky promise to be safe! He slowly wrapped his pinky around Hank's and shook the fingers like a hand shake. 

“Well done, Connor! Right… Ready?”

“For what WootenaHHH!” In the middle of the sentence Hank lifted Connor up and into the sky before he caught him again, he placed Connor on waist and walked into the kitchen. He knew that a kid his age should not really be inside of a kitchen but A. The pinky promise was made and Connor seemed determined to keep it and B. It seemed as if Connor's old programming was back in control. He slowly placed Connor on counter and stared at him for a second before Hank started to make Mac'N'Cheese for the young boy. Connor watched as Hank went about making that … Food… He had never properly eaten, sure back at CyberLife they gave him some food but Connor was never really a fan of them which he got called picky for, in his eyes he just wasn't a food type of person. Connor started to play with the collar of his t-shirt and started to think about his time in CyberLife and how different it was than the last time - They were gentle with him but he wasn't too sure if that was just because he was placed into a YK-600 model which was based off of a three year old - Connor’s mind also raced to the different ‘children’ that were there, they all seemed to be rather happy to leave to what they called their “Mommies and Daddies”... Would that make Hank his father? Of course not. The two of them were just working partners, even if Hank had taken on a role which was more akin to that of a father that was simply down to this model. 

Connor continued to observe what Hank was doing, out of the corner of his eye Connor saw the tail of Sumo. He couldn't see the dog but Hank could, the Lieutenant nodded and dog left. Judging by the way the dog walked it seemed as though he held something his mouth and Connor was not sure what it was. Connor tried to get a better look but almost fell off of the counter, he managed to catch himself before he fell all the way and let out a soft sigh. He didn't want to upset the Lieutenant by breaking the pinky promise. Connor started to think about the application of the Pinky Promise, what he could do with it. Maybe if he found Marcus he could Pinky Promise him that he would help him no matter what with the running of Detroit even in his new model! But that was a problem that he wasn't too sure what to do with, how on earth was he going to find Marcus in the first place! He had an idea of where the man lived but he wasn't too sure and then how on earth was he going to explain his current situation to the leader of the rebellion! That would be a hell of a conversation. But before he could fully recognize that issue he was stood up by a pair of rough hands around his waist, he looked up to see Hank. The man lifted Connor up and placed him on his hip before he grabbed the tray and carried both the tray into the living room. Connor scanned the room and saw that the jacket was gone… Sumo must've taken it… What a good dog.

“I wike dogs” Connor said softly as Hank placed him down on the couch and then placed the lunch on the coffee table. Connor was able to get a good look at this Mac’N’Cheese. He could already smell the clear liquid on it, he had no idea what it was he just knew it helped his battery. Beside the child themed bowl was a blue plastic spoon and a sippy cup with a “Paw Patrol” theme to it. Connor gave Hank a disappointed look, he may be in the model of a child and sometimes caved into the programming but that did not mean he needed a sippy cup! He was still a fully operational android with adult like qualities! And to prove it, Connor took the sippy cup and started to unscrew the lid!... He started to unscrew the lid!... Why wouldn't the lid come off? Hank started to laugh at Connor’s look of concentration as he attempted to undo the childproof lid. Connor looked up at him and pouted before he simply started to drink from the sippy cup, the orange juice slid down his throat and the thiruim started to react with the added chemical. It was a pleasant experience until Connor accidentally dropped the cup, he watched as it rolled on the floor and leak some of it's juice. 

“... Sowwy…” 

“It's fine kid, that's why you have the sippy cup. The model is designed to be clumsy at times… I think, I kinda zoned the fuck out at times during that talk. Why don't you eat your Mac’N’Cheese?” Hank said softly as he picked the cup up from off of the floor, if there was one thing that Hank had learned from his time as a parent it was that, at this age one would have to be so goddamned patient with the kid. They will fuck up and create messes by accident, as long as they didn't do it on purpose then everything would be okay. Hank watched as Connor picked up the spoon, he adjusted his grip on it so that it was tight and then the young android lowered the spoon into the bowl he then lifted out a pile of Macaroni before he shoved it into his mouth. Connor's face instantly lit up with joy! How had he never had this food before!? It was fabulous! It tasted amazing! Better than anything CyberLife gave him! He started to shovel the rest into his mouth and in about two minutes the young android was finished! However to Hank he just a bit of a mess, Connor had done a good job in getting most of it into his mouth but when he failed… Did he fail big time. The cheese sauce was all over his hands, mouth and clothes, small bits of macaroni were in his hair… Even though it was a controlled mess it was still pretty bad. 

“Alright kid, it's time for a bath. You're a bloody mess.” Hank said as he stood up, Connor stood up as well and followed behind the man when he started to walk. They first entered into a very basic guest room, Connor looked around the room and determined that this would probably be his room. Hank walked over to a pile of clothes and pulled out two pair of pajamas for the boy to wear: One was a pajama set of a police man, it had little police cars on the bottoms and an officer’s hat on the T-shirt. The other was a superhero themed onesie complete with a little cape. Usually in this situation Hank would have just gotten the boy back into his normal clothes but they weren't going to do anything today and Hank wanted to get him out of those stupid looking CyberLife clothes, they were fucking stupid and looked as if they were not comfortable at all. Connor stared at the two items and started to feel an emotion that had never felt before… Embarrassed, it was very silly for him to wear those clothes as they were extremely childish. He felt a rush of thiruim move to his face but he didn't know what it was for but Hank knew… And boy was it adorable, there was light tint of blue on Connor's ashamed face. ‘Is how they blush?... Fuckers thought of everything!... That's just adorable.’ Hank thought to himself as he looked at his friend turned child android. 

“Uhh… Can I has da powice one?” Connor asked softly as he looked away from Hank in shame and humiliation. 

“What's the magic word?” Hank said, he was clearly teasing the boy but it was all in good fun. 

“Hank, dat is widiculous, I am still woor pa-”

“If you don't say it then you won't have any Mac’N’Cheese.” 

“... Pwease” Connor said as Hank let out a little chuckle. The bath had been rather successful to say the least, Hank had tried to get Connor to play with some of the bath toys but Connor just simply replied back with his usual complaint about how he did not have any concept of fun. After that it was just a case of cleaning Connor up of cheese sauce and testing how the boy did in the bath which was to say… Good. However the more Hank began to think of it the more he started to think that maybe it was a bad experience, this was a model that was supposed to have fun but Connor did not even splash in the water. He was sure that some adults still did that. After he got the android cleaned and dried Hank went about getting him dressed, the clothes were a bit too big for him and Hank was sure that those were the small clothes. It wasn't too bad, the T-shirt stopped just below the bot’s waist and the trousers fell past his feet. The rest of the day was rather… Slow, the two had just chilled for the rest of the day, Hank had started work on reading up on a case that Jeffrey provided him. He wasn't back fully till next week however he needed to catch up on the on going investigation and of course Connor wanted to help. It was like a game of sorts, they both started to pose possible theories given the current information regarding the subject. Connor had went to bed with little fuss, he wanted to stay up later but was soon tired out however this meant that Hank had to stay next to the bed until the boy had started to charge up. 

But how Hank ended up sitting next to the bed with a bottle Blue Wicked in his hand he would never know. If he had to make a guess it was the silence that killed him the most, for the past seven hours he had to deal with Connor and the case but now he had no distraction other than the report he had to fill out but even then that only lasted five minutes. The lack of sound left Hank to be alone again, alone with the thoughts that drove him insane. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get over the pain Connor must've felt that day, the suffering. He needed to drown it. That's where the Blue Wicked came into play. He had no idea what caused him to go into Connor's room but he did, maybe it was to make sure he was okay. He downed another mouth full and allowed it to work his magic around his body. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a small smack to the belly, he looked down to see a very angry Connor. 

“Hey, Con-”

“Hank… Pwase stop”

Fuck.

“What do you mean kid?”

“Woo know exactly what I wean! Da alcohol! It isn't nice for woo! It hurts woo!”

“...”

“It doesn't make fings better Wootenant! Onwy temporawy.”

“Connor… Please… I, look I know it's bad for me kid but I can't help it. I've tried to get help but the shit doesn't work for me… I know I get upset and shit and don't think straight… I know it hurts me emotionally… But it… It helps me-”

Connor stuck out his pinky. 

“Pwomise me woo won't drink… I don't wanna see woo sad”

“Connor…”

“Pwease Hank… I don't wanna see woo suffer.”

Double fuck. 

“I… I promise.”

“pinkey?”

“I pinky promise.” 

Triple fuck.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So again... I haven't had time to proof read this very short chapter, I started work on this way too late XD.
> 
> This is really just a filler chapter for the next big thing
> 
> I do apologize for any mistakes, enjoy my shitty writing

Connor woke back up and looked around, at first he was startled. Where was he? But then the memory of the past few days had started to sink in and he relaxed. He was with Hank and even though he wasn't exactly in the best body it meant that both he and Hank were safe. He looked around and started to think about everything that happened last night, when he saw Hank he just felt… Sad would not be the correct word as it was too weak of a word to accurately describe the emotions that swirled around in his head last night. He knew exactly what the alcohol did to the man and he wondered if he was to blame, not only because he had failed the mission and died but also because his presence reminded him of Cole. The pain that the man must feel whenever he stared at him must have been soul crushing. However Connor's rather dark thoughts were quickly interrupted when the smell of pancakes practically danced their way into Connor's nose, of course the small android had no idea what this heavenly smell was however it practically called for his name. Connor slowly kicked off the rather dull blankets and slowly got off of the bed, the drop staggered him however he was quick to recover. He adjusted the extremely childish pajama bottoms and left the room, Hank must have left the door open when he eventually went to bed last night. Connor stumbled into the kitchen where he was instantly greeted by Sumo, Connor slowly stroked the dog’s long fur. He looked up and saw Hank at the oven with a pan in hand.

“Morning kid.” Hank mumbled as he started to shake the pan to try and free the pancake up for the flip. He had a horrible hangover from all the alcohol he had drunk last night however he found that whenever he had a hangover this bad that, he honestly had no idea why, pancakes seemed to help. Maybe it was a mental thing but he didn't know. 

“Good Morning, Wootenant Anderson. I am currently operating at ninety seven percent charge!” Connor said surprisingly happy, he didn't mean for it to come off so… Energetic however he guessed that when near maximum charge that his new coding would make it so the boy was… ‘Hyper’

“Heh… Glad someone is a morning person” Hank mumbled as he flipped the pancake, he slightly cracked but he really didn't care. He looked over to Connor to see him properly, he was down right adorable. The little bit of bed head the boy had was amazing and behind the messy fringe Connor’s eyes were widened. He had never seen anything like that before! Hank smiled at the sight and continued to make the pancake, he would probably split it between the two of them so Connor could enjoy the pancake as well. Since the kid was so high on charge he decided against adding the strange liquid. 

“Hank… What song ish dis?” Connor said, he finally started to hear the song that was being played, the slow paced and deep beats of the song interested Connor. Of course he heard music but never like this. 

“Aw… It's just a channel playing some older songs… I think this is… I honestly don't know what this song is, just know it's by that band… Arctic Monkeys or something…Had a friend who dragged to one of their shows… That was… Twenty five years ago now… Jesus Christ I'm old” Hank said with a slight chuckle as he started to plate up the pancakes, he carried them over to the coffee table and placed them down. The old man sat down on the couch and Connor followed him however he struggled to even get up on the couch so Hank, for simplicity's sake, lifted Connor up and placed him on his lap. Hank grabbed a fork full of the pancakes and held it up for Connor to eat. 

“Wootenant, I ish not an actual tod… Toddler. I can fwed myshelf!” Connor shouted in protest to the action that Hank had done, how dare he do that. Connor was still a fully capable android!

“Connor… Buddy… You got macaroni in your last night, I don't even wanna know where you'd get a piece of a pancake… Could be on your goddamn neck.” Hank said as he stared at the little boy who started to pout, Hank knew that it was low for him to go after the whole macaroni incident but for God’s sake, Hank could not be arsed with the clean up of Connor. 

“If you behave and just… Let me feed you kid, then maybe we can go and take Sumo for a walk later and I will maybe let you go and play in the park-”

“But Wootenant, I do not know how to ’ave any fun, itsh not in the ‘oding” Connor mumbled as he opened up his mouth, Hank fed Connor the pancake piece and the small android started to eat it. He knew that there was no added benefits to him having the food however… It tasted good. Really good. It wasn't on the level of the macaroni’n’cheese, which he discovered could be shortened to simply Mac’N’Cheese, however it was still one of best things he ever had. While sure that was still a rather short list, it still tasted amazing. They continued to eat the food together by alternating who had the piece until it was all gone. Hank lifted Connor up and gave him a slight tap on the back. 

“I think I got today's clothes for you, they should be on the floor beside the wardrobe. Do you think you can be a big boy and get changed by yourself?” Hank asked in that weird baby talk which Connor absolutely hated. The android sighed and went to his room where he did indeed find the clothes, he carried them into the bathroom. This should have really been an easy task… He was wrong, Connor was so wrong. Connor did not know how he had managed to get his right and right leg stuck in the elasticated jeans but he somehow did. He looked around and tried to free himself however that only made things worse, he lost his balance and fell face first. He started to cry. Connor’s new body was sensitive to pain and Connor hated it, he was sure that to some pain was something they could brush off but this was all new to him. It felt like he was trapped in hell, he screamed out in pain as Hank charged into the bathroom at the sound of the screams. 

“Oh, Connor” Hank said softly after he had mumbled a curse under his breath, he walked over to the toddler android and lifted him up, Connor grabbed onto Hank’s shirt and just cried into that. Hank sighed as he started to fix Connor's clothes, he took the jeans off and put them back on him properly before he placed him back on the floor. It hurt Hank to see Connor like that, the pain was all a new concept to the boy and he must have been so scared. Hank started to get the boy’s T-shirt on him and then smiled at him, the android was just reduced to sniffles now as he leaned up against Hank. The Lieutenant sighed as he lifted Connor and placed him on his back, Connor hung onto Hank’s back like a baby koala bear. Hank walked over to the couch and placed Connor on it, the toddler android instantly reached for the man again but Hank just called over Sumo who sat in front of Connor who started to hug the dog just so he had something to hold. Hank grabbed the lead and placed it on Sumo. 

The walk to get to the park had been around fifteen minutes and throughout it all Hank was pretty sure that Connor’s old programming had not taken back over, the android had clung to Hank’s hand like it was a life or death situation but as soon as they reached the park it was like the switch had been flipped back. Hank tried to get the boy to play on anything really however Connor just wouldn't, Hank had tried everything he could think of but nothing. It was just the “I am not programmed” line that Hank had become accustomed to in the past few days. It took and actual child to drag him to play, Hank couldn't tell if Connor was just acting to please the child or if the new programming had took over, what he did know was that Connor looked to be enjoying himself. However Hank was pulled right out of his thoughts when Sumo pulled hard in the lead which almost knocked him off of the bench he sat on. 

“You're Hank, right?” A voice asked, it sounded familiar but yet Hank could not place it.

“Yeah, who's asking?”

“I am a friend of Connor, I just heard about his death and I just wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss Hank, he always spoke highly of you. It was never outwardly stated and I don't think he knows but he looked up to you. Like a father figure if sorts.”

That pissed Hank off, he stood up and looked at him… So that's where he knew that voice from.

The leader of the revolution. 

Markus.


End file.
